posted 02-14-201702:20 PM
For this year's St. Valentine's Day, I present to you the full version of my EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf story "Flowerbell's Love Triangle".-----Part 1

It was morning in the Smurf Village. Papa Smurf was in his bedroom still asleep when there was a knocking on his door. "Papa Smurf?" a familiar voice called from outside.Papa Smurf slowly lifted his eyes open when he heard the voice. "Who is it?" he asked."It's Empath," the voice answered. "This smurf needs you to answer the door for something important."Papa Smurf stretched and yawned as he got himself out of bed. He climbed down the stairs into his laboratory and opened the door to see that Empath was waiting there, wearing jogging clothes. "Empath, what's the meaning of this?" he asked."Don't you know, Papa Smurf?" Empath said. "This is the day you're going to get yourself into shape.""Smurf myself into shape?" Papa Smurf said, not believing what he was hearing. "I surely don't remember smurfing anything about needing a day to...""Dabbler Smurf begs to differ," Empath said, interrupting Papa Smurf. "He says that you need to get yourself in shape because you've been putting on some weight since the last time you had a checkup with him.""Empath, I'm a busy Smurf," Papa Smurf said. "Can't we find some other time that we can smurf this?""This smurf already had a discussion with this smurf's fellow Smurfs, and they agreed to take care of important village tasks while you take the day off for your exercise regimen, Papa Smurf," Empath said. "Brainy can do some cleaning up of your laboratory, and Hefty can oversee important village tasks, and Tapper can take care of whatever Smurfs need a bit of counseling. Everyone else in the village will be fine without you for a day."Papa Smurf sighed, realizing that he had no choice. "All right, Empath. Smurf me some time to prepare myself."Empath handed Papa Smurf some jogging clothes. "This will be waiting right here until you're ready."As Papa Smurf headed back inside his bedroom to change into the jogging clothes, Smurfette came walking by. "Hello there, Empath," she greeted. "Getting Papa Smurf ready for his day of workouts?""Papa Smurf senses a bit of reluctancy on his part, Smurfette, but this smurf is certain that he is willing to get through this day without a single problem," Empath responded."Well, I'm going to miss you at breakfast this morning, so don't oversmurf Papa Smurf with your workout routine," Smurfette said as she slipped him a kiss. "I'll see you later, Empath."Shortly after Smurfette left, Papa Smurf emerged from his house wearing the jogging clothes. "So now what do we smurf with this morning, Empath?" he asked."We're going to start with a jog around the outer perimeter of the village, Papa Smurf," Empath answered. "This smurf will start off slow so you can build yourself up to a pace that you are comfortable with.""Well, lead the way, Empath," Papa Smurf said as he closed the door to his house.Empath started to jog, and Papa Smurf followed right behind him, trying to keep up with his son even though he was jogging at a slow pace so that Papa Smurf would not lag behind."Gosh, look, Dimmy, it's Empath and Papa Smurf," Clumsy said to his brother Dimwitty as they both saw the two of them jogging."I didn't know Papa Smurf had smurfed up jogging as of lately, Clumsy," Dimwitty commented."Uh, me neither," Clumsy said as the two of them looked on in wonder at Empath and Papa Smurf passing by them.Empath saw Hefty, Tuffy, and Duncan McSmurf as they were doing their own jogging circuit around the village. "Salutations, my fellow Smurfs," Empath greeted as he came into range of the three other joggers."Greetings, laddie," Duncan said back to Empath. "Taking Papa out for a jog around the village, I see.""How's he doing so far, Empath?" Hefty asked."He should be catching up with us right about now, Hefty," Empath answered. And surely as he said that, Papa Smurf was doing his best trying to keep up, though he seemed to be breathing hard as he was running."Not quite as fast as he used to be when we had Gargamel smurfing after us all around the forest now, is he?" Tuffy commented."You really want that evil wizard smurfing around here again, Tuffy?" Duncan asked."We could all use a bit more exercise to smurf ourselves out of any danger, you know," Hefty said. "It's not like we can always rely on old star-face to protect us from every sort of danger.""Just the really big ones that even we as a group of Smurfs can't handle, Hefty," Tuffy said.Empath and Papa Smurf were now passing by Handy, Miner, and Farmer as they were heading out to Farmer's fields to work on the irrigation system. "Smurf and begorrah, there goes Empath with Papa Smurf on a morning jog," Miner said as the three of them watched the two joggers pass by."Is it me, or is Papa Smurf do be smurfing shorter of breath in his old age?" Farmer asked."What do you expect with a Smurf who's only 549 years old, Farmer?" Handy replied. "I just hope I'm not in the same shape as him when I get to be that age."Tapper was near the outskirts of the village doing his daily morning prayer when Empath and Papa Smurf passed by him. "O Lord God, the Heavenly Father, I pray for the sake of Papa Smurf, our beloved leader, that you would smurf his heart from all temptations of evil and that you would smurf him wisdom to guide us in our everyday living as You are the Good Shepherd that smurfs over your flock at all times. I ask You this in the name of Your only begotten Son. Amen.""Empath...could you please slow down?" Papa Smurf requested, panting heavily."We're almost finished, Papa Smurf," Empath responded.Empath and Papa Smurf continued their circuit around the village, passing by several more Smurfs that were just getting ready for their day, including Wheelie, who was busy delivering the morning newspaper while riding his unicycle around the village. Papa Smurf could feel his heart beating faster as he continued trying to keep up with his son.Then finally, Empath said, "You can relax now, Papa Smurf. Our circuit around the village is finished."Papa Smurf exhaled greatly as he and Empath slowed to a stop. "That was quite a workout there, Empath.""We're not finished with the workout, Papa Smurf," Empath said as he continued to move around. "As soon as we are cooled down from the jog, we will be going into an exercise routine for the next thirty minutes.""Another thirty minutes?" Papa Smurf said, sounding exasperated."You want to maintain good health in your later years, Papa Smurf, you should listen to what your physician is telling you," Empath said, trying not to sound like he was lecturing. "You'll get through it in fine shape, this smurf promises you."Papa Smurf slapped his forehead in frustration.

At the breakfast table, the Smurflings had a question to ask the adult Smurfs that they felt needed an answer."Smurfette, do you know how creatures like woodelves, uh...smurf intimate with each other when they're alone and married?" Sassette asked."I'm not sure if anyone but Papa Smurf knows, Sassette," Smurfette answered. "Why do you ask?""Snappy was smurfing a little crude with his descriptions of how woodelves smurf intimate with each other, and I just want to know from someone who does know," Sassette explained."They're male and female, aren't they?" Snappy said. "They should smurf together like males and females do...you know, with the things Mother Nature smurfed them so they can smurf together secretly.""But woodelves are not like other creatures in the forest, Snap, as I keep on smurfing you," Nat said. "They may be male and female, but that doesn't mean that they smurf babies into the world like other creatures do.""Then why would Mother Nature make them male and female in the first smurf?" Snappy asked."I don't know...probably so that there's a mother and father in the families they smurf together," Slouchy guessed."Unfortunately, Papa Smurf is very busy with Empath this morning and will not be available to answer any Smurf's questions," Smurfette said. "So I'm afraid you're going to have to wait until tomorrow to ask Papa Smurf that kind of question.""Perhaps this one may be of some assistance, since this one has studied on the various procreative practices of all types of creatures in this forest," Polaris Psyche offered when he overheard the conversation going on."And I thought Psyches have no interest in 'procreative activities', Polaris, unless you're trying to smurf something about yourself," Snappy jested."Seriously, Polaris, what can you tell about how male and female woodelves smurf intimate with each other?" Sassette asked, sounding curious."From what this one has learned from Papa Smurf, woodelves engage in what is called 'dream sharing', which is when two woodelves, each of opposite genders, enter the same dream together when they are asleep," Polaris answered."And that's it?" Snappy said. "There's no...physical activity smurfing on between them? That sounds boring.""That's probably how Mother Nature intended for them to be intimate with each other, Snap," Nat said. "Why would you complain about that?""Because we know how Snappy wants to be intimate, and with whom, don't we?" Slouchy said with a suggestive smirk.Smurfette giggled. "I'm afraid that I'm still too old for you Smurflings. You'll have to wait a while before you start smurfing an interest in Sassette if you're going to desire smurfing to be alone with somebody like that.""Me, alone with Sassette?" Snappy said with some disgust. "I'd rather kiss her frog than kiss her face.""What about you, Polaris?" Sassette wondered. "Do Psyches ever, uh...share dreams with each other?""That is what Psyches do, Sassette, although Psyches are only paired together as same-*** couples because the Psyche Master does not wish for Psyches to have intimate relations with each other, either for reproduction or for mere animalistic pleasure," Polaris answered."That just sounds so unnatural to be paired as same-*** couples, Polaris," Nat said with a hint of distaste in his voice."It sure doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me," Slouchy said."So you and Empath have been sharing dreams with each other in Psychelia," Snappy said, realizing what Polaris was saying. "Anything interesting smurfing on in those dreams that we should know about?""Snappy, that's a very rude question to ask of Polaris," Smurfette said, sounding displeased."What goes on between this one and Empath in our dream sharing experiences is something that neither this one nor Empath are willing to disclose to anyone else, Snappy," Polaris answered."Snap, you creep, why do you ask about what smurfs on between Empath and Polaris?" Nat asked, sounding bewildered. "Are you looking to smurf over Nosey's job as the village snoop?""I'm certainly not going to smurf in that direction, unless Tapper starts serving the hard stuff to Smurflings like us," Slouchy said with his eyes rolling."If he's serving anything like brain bleach, I'll have one too," Sassette said in agreement."I'm going to pretend like you never mentioned anything about 'dream sharing' between you and Empath if that's anything like I think they're thinking about, Polaris," Smurfette said."This one can remove that memory from your mind, if you so desire for not remember anything this one has said about the 'dream sharing', Smurfette," Polaris suggested."Uh, no thanks, Polaris," Smurfette said.

After breakfast, Polaris went on his daily routine to inspect all activities within the village to make sure everything went smoothly without any problems. Along his way, he met with Tapper and Duncan, the both of whom were carrying kegs of sarsaparilla ale from the distillery to the tavern to fill up the large keg that was hooked up outside the building."Smurf o' the morning to you, Polaris," Tapper greeted. "What smurfs to be on your mind today?""This one is concerned about Papa Smurf's state of mind, now that he's currently engaged with Empath in a day of physical regimen to maintain his fitness," Polaris said. "This one does not understand why Papa Smurf does not want to concern himself about his health issues at a time when it may be necessary for him to do so.""Papa sure is a stubborn one when it comes to his own health, laddie," Duncan said. "I guess he doesn't like the fact that he isn't the young pup that he used to be.""I would have to agree with Duncan on that, my fellow Polaris," Tapper said. "Being consmurfly reminded of one's age is not something that everybody wants to hear, but we are still mortal creatures even if we smurf the blessing of having longer lives than most, and all of us are still appointed to die and then smurf judgment for our lives at the hands of the Almighty who created us.""This one only wishes that Papa Smurf wouldn't be so sensitive in regards to knowing his own age and mortality, Tapper," Polaris said. "This one would consider it a blessing for a Psyche to even live as long as the Psyche Master, though no one among us is certain of how long he has lived for.""I can only wish to still be attractive to the young lassies as Papa Smurf was to that woodnymph who came to smurf with us several years ago when I get to be Papa Smurf's age," Duncan said."This one has heard of the female known as Flowerbell who seemed to be attracted to Papa Smurf when she came into the village during Empath's absence," Polaris said. "However, from what this one has heard about her interactions with Papa Smurf, her affections didn't seem to be as genuine as Papa Smurf thought they were.""I'm afraid they weren't, Polaris, because she was originally smurfed by Lord Balthazar to smurf the heart of the wisest Smurf of all so he could capture him and make him smurf the evil lord's will," Tapper said. "However, she did come to care enough for Papa Smurf that she would help the Smurfs rescue him from Balthazar, but sadly it broke Papa Smurf's heart to know she didn't love him as much as he thought she did.""Aye, that was a real sad moment for myself as well, because I honestly thought Flowerbell would be a keeper for Papa at his age," Duncan said."This one is at a loss to understand the attractions between people of both opposite sexes and different ages," Polaris said. "It would make more sense for those same people to be of the same age as each other in order to have attractions for each other.""I don't understand it myself, my good Polaris, but that's how love smurfs sometimes, and other times it's just plain lust at smurf," Tapper said.Just then, Empath passed by the three Smurfs, carrying Papa Smurf in his arms. "Clear the way! This smurf must get Papa Smurf to the infirmary immediately!" he cried out."Great Smurfiny Crickets, I wonder what's wrong with Papa Smurf," Tapper said."This one senses that Papa Smurf may have been overworked during his physical regimen or something worse," Polaris said. "This one will need to attend to Papa Smurf to make sure it is nothing serious.""Michty me, laddie, I certainly hope that it isn't anything serious," Duncan said with some honest feeling as he watched Polaris follow after Empath.

The village was crowded around the infirmary as Dabbler and Empath examined Papa Smurf's physical condition, stripping him of his jogging clothes and putting him in a hospital patient's gown while they made the examination. Hefty and Polaris stood outside the infirmary to make sure the other Smurfs stayed outside."I'm not smurfing a heartbeat coming from Papa Smurf," Dabbler said as he listened for one by using his stethoscope."Then it's time to give him a psionic blast to jumpstart his heart, hopefully to get it beating again," Empath said."You sure that will be safe?" Dabbler asked. "That will smurf a lot of energy out of you to do so.""We don't have time to argue about this, Dabbler," Empath said very forcefully. "Just let me smurf it!""Fine, but I'll tell Polaris to smurf the mindlink ready in case you need it," Dabbler said as he backed away from the bed and headed for the door.Empath put his hands on Papa Smurf's chest and focused all his mental energy through his hands to emit a single burst. "Clear!" Empath shouted as he emitted the burst of energy through his hands into Papa Smurf, causing his body to jolt from the burst. Empath felt weak from the burst, but he couldn't sense a single heartbeat coming from Papa Smurf. He could also sense the Smurfs outside, hoping and praying for a miracle to happen.Empath refocused all his strength to get a second burst ready to fire through his hands. "Again!" he shouted as he emitted another burst, causing Papa Smurf's body to jolt. This time, though, Empath could sense a heart beat coming from the village leader.Dabbler returned to the bed as Empath collapsed to the floor, spent from having to emit all that energy through the psionic blasts. "How is Papa Smurf doing?" Dabbler asked, afraid to know."He...will recover, Dabbler," Empath managed to say.

Tapper, Duncan, Smurfette, and the Smurflings met up with Empath as soon as he regained his strength. "How's Pappy doing right now, Empath?" Sassette asked."He's resting, Sassette," Empath replied. "He needs to have a day of rest so that he can recover and then take it easy for a few days afterward.""How did he smurf like this?" Smurfette asked. "Did you smurf him too hard during the day that he was supposed to do exercises with you?""This smurf tried not to overwork him, Smurfette," Empath answered. "It's probably because he hasn't had such a workout in his life that it just put too much of a strain on him.""You should have smurfed easy on Papa nonetheless, laddie," Duncan said. "If he wasn't used to smurfing such a workout, he could have just smurfed the bucket right there.""I'm sure that Empath smurfed the best he could to avoid that situation, my fellow Duncan," Tapper said. "The only thing we can smurf now is pray for a speedy recovery for Papa Smurf.""Poor Papa Smurf," Nat said. "I hope Mother Nature will smurf him back on his feet and soon.""Ah, don't worry so much about him, Nat," Snappy said. "He's Papa Smurf. He's tougher than he smurfs for his age.""Not tough enough to avoid almost dying on us from a workout, Snap," Slouchy said solemnly."Empath, will Pappy Smurf really die?" Sassette asked, sounding really concerned."Not if we take good care of him, Sassette," Empath said assuringly. "There's nothing for you to worry about here. All he needs is just time to rest.""But if he dies, doesn't that make you the next Papa Smurf around here?" Nat asked."Papa Smurf has appointed this smurf to be the next village leader in case he does pass away, Nat," Empath answered. "However, this smurf doubts that his death will happen anytime soon, except for the unexpected.""I think that is one thing that we should smurf in the hands of the Almighty, my fellow Smurfs," Tapper said. "For now, we will let Papa Smurf have his rest and we will pray for his recovery.""Whatever happens, Empath, I just want you to know that I'm proud for how you're handling this situation today," Smurfette said as she looked into his eyes.

Papa Smurf remained asleep and under constant care by the Smurfs throughout the entire day. When he came to the next morning, he was greeted by his son Empath."What...what happened to me? Where am I?" Papa Smurf asked."You've almost died during your workout, Papa Smurf," Empath answered. "This smurf had to jumpstart your heart with a psionic blast in order to revive you. It was fortunate that you survived, or else we wouldn't be here talking with each other. How are you feeling this morning?""Uh, like I need something to eat," Papa Smurf responded. "You really should be careful about smurfing me a workout if you plan on smurfing after my health.""This smurf apologizes for that, Papa Smurf," Empath said sincerely. "This smurf was only trying to make sure you would be comfortable easing into your workout routine. You are after all a Smurf who's advanced in years.""I don't need another reminder that I'm an old Smurf, Empath," Papa Smurf said, sounding a bit upset. "Who's currently smurfing after things in the village?""Hefty is right now overseeing things while Brainy is taking care of your laboratory and Tapper is doing some counseling, Papa Smurf," Empath reported. "But nonetheless, the whole village does care about you and only wants to see you live out the rest of your years.""Well, I think it's time I joined the rest of my little Smurfs," Papa Smurf said as he slowly made his way out of his bed. "Promise me you'd not smurf me through another one of those workouts if you want to see me healthy.""This smurf promises to be careful in the future, Papa Smurf, and again this smurf apologizes for what has happened," Empath said as he helped Papa Smurf get back on his feet. "This smurf has brought you your regular clothes that you can change into whenever you're ready. Do you need any help?""No, Empath, I am fine," Papa Smurf said insistently, taking the red pants that were sitting next to him on a chair next to his bed and going over to behind a divider to change from his hospital gown.Dabbler came in to see on his patient when he noticed he was up and about changing his clothes. "I'm glad to see that you're smurfing well this morning, Papa Smurf, but you should smurf things slowly just to make sure you don't smurf another attack like you did yesterday," Dabbler advised as soon as he saw Papa Smurf back to wearing his red pants."Thank you, Dabbler, I'll be sure to remember that," Papa Smurf said, taking a walking stick that Dabbler provided for him. Empath helped Papa Smurf as he slowly made his way out the door."We're going to take things nice and easy, Papa Smurf," Empath said. "This smurf promises that hardly any Smurf will bother you until you have a chance to recover."As Papa Smurf made his way outside, he was already greeted by a group of Smurfs that were gathering around him. "Gosh, Papa Smurf, are you okay?" Clumsy asked, sounding concerned."Can't you see that he has just smurfed out of the infirmary, Clumsy?" Brainy asked, annoyed as if his friend couldn't see the obvious."You almost smurfed us quite a scare there, Papa Smurf," Hefty said."Is there anything that we can do for you, Papa Smurf?" Smurfette asked."Please, let Papa Smurf have some room for himself, my fellow Smurfs," Empath said. "He needs to have some food so he can slowly start to recover."The Smurfs started to back away as they watched Empath guide Papa Smurf to Greedy's kitchen. "Poor Papa Smurf," Clumsy said. "I hope that he smurfs better.""Of course he's going to smurf better, Clumsy," Brainy said. "He's got Empath smurfing out for him in his time of need.""I sure hope so, Brainy," Hefty said. "Papa Smurf just isn't a young Smurf like the rest of us."

Tapper and Duncan watched as Papa Smurf ate his breakfast that morning. "If there's one thing Papa Smurf hasn't lost, it's his appetite," Duncan said as they continued to watch."Aye, that's one of the things I'm grateful that Papa Smurf still has, my fellow Duncan," Tapper said."If only we can work on getting Papa Smurf a new young lassie in his life to love, laddie," Duncan said. "I sure don't want Papa to smurf through the rest of his life without a fair maid to tickle his fancy.""I think we should worry about one thing at a time, and let the Almighty work on smurfing the rest of what would satisfy Papa Smurf's heart," Tapper said."You wouldn't want Papa to go smurfing after Smurfette again like he did when he was smurfing that 'pheromone cologne' that Vanity almost smurfed out on himself now, would you?" Duncan asked."Absosmurfly not, Duncan," Tapper said a bit indignantly. "I mean, Smurfette is like a daughter to him. Why would you think that Papa Smurf's desires would be smurfed back to Smurfette in such an inappropriate way?""I don't know, laddie," Duncan said. "I can't control what his heart desires anymore than you can, but you say that the Almighty can smurf a rein over his desires, so that's what I'm believing.""Gosh, Brainy, do you think that Papa Smurf would smurf in love again with somebody?" Clumsy asked, overhearing what Tapper and Duncan were talking to each other about."I don't know, Clumsy," Brainy answered. "I think it's more appropriate that Papa Smurf would just settle down and be the village leader and Papa Smurf that he is to all of us.""But what about that Flowerbell that he smurfed in love with?" Clumsy asked."Flowerbell the woodnymph?" Brainy exclaimed. "Clumsy, don't you remember what that little nymph tried to do when Papa Smurf did smurf in love with her? She tried to smurf him over to that Lord Balthazar so that she could smurf her freedom from him.""Gee, Brainy, that was a long time ago," Clumsy said. "Maybe she's changed since then.""I still don't trust her, Clumsy," Brainy said emphatically. "She's probably up to her old tricks again since the last time we smurfed her. I don't even know why Papa Smurf let her attend Woody and Laconia's wedding.""Maybe he still has feelings for her, Brainy," Clumsy guessed. "Who really knows?""Well, I think that Papa Smurf is just too old to smurf a new love in his life, Clumsy," Vanity said as he overheard Brainy and Clumsy talking. "I just can't see what Flowerbell ever smurfed in him anyway that would make him think he smurfs a chance with any female at his age.""I hate being too old," Grouchy said."You won't have to worry about smurfing a love in your life with the way that you act around others, Grouchy," Vanity sneered. "I'll have a better chance of being with Smurfette than you ever will.""I hate condescending Smurfs," Grouchy said.Finally, Papa Smurf finished his plate of breakfast. "Ahhh...now that was a satisfying meal," he exhaled with relief as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Empath, I've decided that I'm going to smurf a break from my regular duties for today, so I want you to be in charge until further notice.""This smurf acknowledges and understands, Papa Smurf," Empath responded."But Papa Smurf, I'm going to need you to smurf over my latest proposals for my next book," Brainy complained."And I need you to smurf over the blueprints for my next invention," Handy said."And I need you to smurf over my latest recipe," Greedy said."And I need you to smurf over my new fashion designs," Vanity said."And we need you to tell us how woodnymphs smurf babies together," the Smurflings said.And several more voices were raised about what they needed Papa Smurf for before Empath silenced them all. "Hold it, my fellow Smurfs. Papa Smurf needs his rest for the day and does not need to be inundated with requests for his attention, especially when he's trying to relax. So please hold off on all your requests until Papa Smurf has a chance to recuperate.""Yes, Empath," all the Smurfs said together.

The Smurflings decided to join Tracker and his team of Smurfs out into the forest to help collect all sorts of wild berries for the storehouse. All the while, they couldn't help thinking about one thing that was going on in their own minds."I wonder what it would be like if Pappy Smurf did find and marry a Mammy Smurf someday," Sassette said."Papa Smurf with a Mama Smurf? Like smurf that's ever going to happen, Sassy," Snappy said."I know, but I'm just wondering because Pappy Smurf seems so unhappy without one," Sassette said."I don't see Papa Smurf being unhappy without someone else to love," Slouchy said. "He's got the rest of us to smurf after.""Besides that, we don't even know if there are any female Smurfs in the world besides you and Smurfette and those on Smurfling Island," Nat said."I would love to someday go with you to Smurfling Island," Sassette said. "Imagine always being a Smurfling forever, no Smurf telling you what to do.""I've already smurfed that life, and I like smurfing here much better than there," Snappy said."Would you want to always be fighting with Captain Smurfhook when you're with the Lost Smurflings on Smurfling Island, Sassette?" Nat asked."The way you smurf about him, he doesn't seem so dangerous to me," Sassette said."You ever smurf with him face to face, you would wish you were back here with the rest of the grown-up Smurfs, Sassy," Slouchy said."And the pirate Smurfettes...uh, I don't think Papa Smurf would want to smurf his heart to any of those," Snappy said with some disgust."We've got to find somebody that's just right for Pappy, Smurflings, and I'm not going to stop until there is somebody for him to smurf in love with," Sassette said resolutely.Just then, they could hear a female voice crying out, "HELP! HELP! SOME SMURF, SAVE ME!" And then a winged pink-skinned female in a coral pink dress with a brown-haired beehive flew quickly right past them, knocking over the buckets that the Smurflings were collecting the berries in."Whispering whipporwills, who was that?" Sassette asked."I don't know," Slouchy answered. "But she surely sounds desperate for our help."The winged pink female continued to fly right past the Smurfs, knocking over buckets and causing such a disruption that made the Smurfs seem upset. Then Smurfette noticed something about the female. "That sounds like Flowerbell.""Flowerbell? She's back here again?" Hefty asked."Now what would Flowerbell want with us, now that she's free?" Greedy asked."I don't know, but we'd better hope she's not smurfing trouble with her again like last time," Hefty said.

In the village, Empath and Polaris were busy talking with each other as they were observing all the activities going on in the village."Where has Papa Smurf gone to recuperate himself, Empath?" Polaris asked."He decided to spend some time in the Imaginarium in a setting that he said was supposed to be relaxing, Polaris," Empath said. "This smurf knew what he actually meant, though, that he wanted to spend time with the Imaginarium-created version of my mother.""Apparently his years as being a widow hasn't dimmed the desire that he still has for the lifemate that he was married to years ago," Polaris said. "The other Smurfs were hoping that Papa Smurf would find somebody like this Flowerbell that Papa Smurf had interactions with several years ago.""This smurfs knows about that incident, Polaris," Empath said. "I feel sorry that Papa Smurf had his heart broken by that Flowerbell when he found out what she was really after, but I wonder how long he's going to hold that fault against her.""This one can only vaguely understand the need for anyone to hold personal grudges against other people for wrongs they have committed, Empath," Polaris said. "Perhaps it all comes down to the issue of who you trust with your life, and knowing that somebody has let you down makes you feel betrayed of that trust.""This smurf could understand that betrayal a bit more than you can, Polaris," Empath said before he noticed something. "This smurf senses somebody is coming who is in danger and in urgent need of someone."Then before either Empath or Polaris could say anything more, the winged pink female flew straight towards them and stopped. "Smurfs, you've got to help me! Where's Papa Smurf?" the female asked."You must be Flowerbell," Empath surmised from her appearance."Of course I am, kiddo," Flowerbell said. "You look really handsome for someone younger than Papa Smurf.""Papa Smurf is currently indisposed at the moment, Flowerbell," Polaris responded. "We will not summon him unless we know what you need him for.""I can't tell you, because I'm afraid to let anyone else know," Flowerbell said, sounding a bit desperate. "Now are you going to get Papa Smurf or not?""This smurf senses that your desire for seeking out Papa Smurf is sincere," Empath said. "This smurf will go get him so that you may discuss what you need him for in private.""Oh, thank you," Flowerbell gushed. "I'll be waiting right here next to your friend."Brainy and Clumsy saw Flowerbell standing with Polaris while Empath went to get Papa Smurf. "Well, what do you know, Brainy?" Clumsy said, sounding very excited. "Flowerbell's returned!""I don't like this, Clumsy," Brainy said with a scrutinizing look. "Flowerbell wouldn't come here unless there's something up her sleeve.""Something up her sleeve? I don't think she has any sleeves," Clumsy said."That's not what I meant," Brainy said, frustrated at his friend's lack of understanding. "What I mean is that she's hiding something, and I'm going to find out just what it is she's hiding.""Maybe she really isn't hiding anything, Brainy," Clumsy said."We'll see about that, Clumsy, we'll see," Brainy said as he continued to look at her.

Meanwhile, inside the Imaginarium, Papa Smurf was in a forest setting, having a picnic with the Imaginarium-created version of his wife Lillithina. He tried to enjoy the privacy of her company, but there was just something on his mind."What's wrong, my dear?" Lillithina asked, sounding concerned. "I thought you would be happy spending some time with me away from the village.""It's not your fault, Lilly," Papa Smurf said. "There's just someone on my mind that I haven't smurfed in years that I smurfed in love with. I don't want to dishonor your memory or anything, but she made me feel like a young Smurf again.""You shouldn't feel guilty if your heart has been smurfed to someone else now that I'm gone, Cully," Lillithina said. "I have smurfed you the best years that we could ever possibly have together when we were still smurfing. I'm not going to be jealous about this other person who's smurfing after your heart.""I feel so unsmurfy longing for her after he's broken my heart, Lilly," Papa Smurf said. "I should have just forgotten about her and smurfed on, but every time I think of her, she just makes me wish that I could smurf on to her longer.""You will find someone else in your life that will love you as much as I have, dear," Lillithina said as she leaned close to his face. "I'll still be here in your memories for as long as you need me to."Papa Smurf smiled at that thought as he leaned his face toward Lillithina's and kissed. Then suddenly, a voice spoke: "Papa Smurf, another Smurf has entered your fantasy setting. It is Empath."Papa Smurf sighed. "I'm going to have to smurf back to this setting later, my sweetie," he said to Lillithina. "I have an important thing in the village that needs my attention to smurf.""I understand, Cully," Lillithina said, smiling as she watched Papa Smurf get up from the picnic blanket that they were both lying down upon."Imaginarium, end fantasy setting," Papa Smurf ordered. Instantly, the fantasy setting disappeared, bringing him back to reality to face his son Empath."This smurf apologizes for disturbing you on your day off, Papa Smurf, but there is an important emergency that requires your attention...a certain someone that needs to see you," Empath reported.Papa Smurf nodded as he noticed the look on Empath's face. "I might as well see what's so important that this someone needs to smurf me in person for," he said as he picked up his walking stick from the floor and walked out of the Imaginarium with Empath.

Polaris was still standing in the same spot with Flowerbell when Empath returned with Papa Smurf. "Oh, Pops!" she cried out as she quickly rushed toward him and gave him a big hug and a smooch on the cheek."Flowerbell!" Papa Smurf exclaimed as he looked at her. "I didn't expect you to return after all these years.""I didn't expect that I would need to return here after the wedding," Flowerbell said. "There's something important that I need to tell you.""You already said what you needed to tell me years ago," Papa Smurf said. "I don't understand what else you need to tell me now.""I can't tell you in front of all these people," Flowerbell said as she looked around. "Is there someplace private we can go to discuss this?""We can both go into the Imaginarium together," Papa Smurf suggested. "I don't think anyone else will disturb us as long as it's just the two of us."Flowerbell exhaled. "At least you still know how to treat a woman, Pops."Empath and Polaris both watched as Papa Smurf and Flowerbell headed in the direction of the Imaginarium. "Were you able to read her mind and figure out just what it is that she wanted to tell Papa Smurf in private, Polaris?" Empath asked discreetly."Unfortunately this one was not able to read her mind, Empath, but from what this one was sensing from her emotions, there's a fear of somebody coming after her that she's trying to escape from," Polaris answered."Somebody is pursuing her?" Empath said. "It was probably wise of her not to let anybody else know who her pursuant is, that we do not endanger anybody else in the village, if he happens to be dangerous.""Could it possibly be this Lord Balthazar who had captured her previously and used her for his own ends that is now after her again?" Polaris asked."Who knows if it's someone else whom she has crossed paths with recently, Polaris?" Empath answered. "For now, though, we'd better watch over her to make sure whoever's after her doesn't get his hands on her.""This one understands and acknowledges, Empath," Polaris responded.

"Imaginarium, smurf us to the forest scene, no other characters in it," Papa Smurf said as soon as he and Flowerbell entered the room with the crystals in it. The room immediately changed to a scene similar to the one Papa Smurf was in earlier, except that there were two small mushrooms instead of a picnic blanket."You sure do set the mood for the discussion," Flowerbell said as she sat down on one of the two mushrooms and Papa Smurf sat on the other. "Well, here's the deal, and I want you to hear me out...I need to get married.""Married?" Papa Smurf asked, stunned by how sudden the proposal was made. "You mean to me? But why me? Why now?""I know it's so sudden for me to ask you this, but you have always been on my mind since we first met several years ago, and you were willing to give up your freedom to save me," Flowerbell said."I don't remember smurfing up anything for you, Flowerbell," Papa Smurf said. "You had Balthazar waiting in the forest to capture me. I had no idea what you were up to until you smurfed me out there on the day of our wedding.""I know, and I'm sorry about that," Flowerbell said. "If I hadn't fulfilled my end of the bargain to Balthazar, he would never have let me go. But I couldn't let you be left there all alone in that evil man's hands. I had to do something, and I had only your little Smurfs to help me do it.""And so you rescued me, and for that I'm grateful that you smurfed to your senses," Papa Smurf said. "That still doesn't make what you smurfed to me less painful to bear.""But you still allowed me to attend Woody and Laconia's wedding, so you must still have a thing for me," Flowerbell said."I do not have a thing for you!" Papa Smurf said insistently. "I allowed you to come only because I was being a friend to you, and because Smurfette still cares for you.""You were just being a friend?" Flowerbell said in disbelief. "I don't believe you for a minute. Deep down you know that I'm the only one who still thinks you're an attractive Smurf, and that you're someone who truly cares for me.""You have your freedom now...you could have smurfed anywhere you want to, but you smurfed here for a reason, and I want to know just what that reason is," Papa Smurf demanded.Flowerbell sighed. "I came to you because I'm being pursued by somebody who wants me to marry him. And the thing is, I don't love him...not since he wanted to marry me for...his own reasons," she replied."Someone is after you?" Papa Smurf asked, sounding a bit concerned. "But who is it that wants you to marry him? And what does he want you for?""He's some imp who claims to be after an ancient treasure, who was wearing these golden shoes on his feet," Flowerbell answered. "I felt sorry for him when he got trapped in a rope snare, and so I helped him get free of those shoes, and he started falling in love with me. I didn't ask him a lot of questions, but he ended up telling me, and I started feeling like I was being used by him.""I have a feeling that I may know this imp whom you're smurfing about, Flowerbell," Papa Smurf said, stroking his beard as he was trying to think of who the woodnymph was talking about. "If it will make you feel safe, I will have my Smurfs look after you and you can stay with Smurfette until we find out how we can smurf you out of this predicament.""You mean...you're going to marry me?" Flowerbell asked, sounding as if that's what he meant."That's not what I was going to say," Papa Smurf said. "We're going to find out what this imp wants with you and then find out how we can satisfy his demands without either of us being smurfed together.""I promise you that he's not going to be easy to get rid of, Pops," Flowerbell said."We'll see about that, Flowerbell," Papa Smurf said.

Hefty was leading the team of Smurfs back into the village with the haul of berries they have picked. "We should have enough berries for all the pies, jams, and desserts that Greedy wants to smurf with," Hefty said as he and Smurfette walked together."Something tells me that Flowerbell is in danger and that somebody must be after her, Hefty," Smurfette said."But who would it be this time, Smurfette?" Hefty asked. "Lord Balthazar?""I really don't know who it would be, Hefty, but I don't want to see her get smurfed by whatever it is that's after her," Smurfette answered."Smurfette, don't you remember how she tricked Papa Smurf into wanting to marry her the last time she was here...before Laconia's wedding?" Hefty said."I know what she did, but I also know she didn't mean to hurt Papa Smurf, Hefty," Smurfette said. "I don't think that's what she's after now.""I still don't trust her, Smurfette, and I want to make sure you don't get smurfed by anything she tries to smurf to any of us," Hefty said."Hello there, my dear," a familiar voice spoke. Hefty and Smurfette stopped as a green-skinned red-haired imp with a beard suddenly appeared before the two Smurfs. "Remember me from the last time I was in your life?""That troll again!" Hefty said in disgust. "How did you escape those dancing shoes Papa Smurf cast on you?""I'm am imp, not a troll, you knucklehead, and the name is Avarice," the imp said, sounding rather offended. "As for how I escaped those shoes, let's just say I had a little helper come along to get me out, and I'm just wondering where that little helper went.""Little helper?" Hefty said. "We don't know who it is you're talking about, imp.""And we're not going to let you know if we've seen whoever it is you're looking for either," Smurfette insisted."Oh, I will find out, and when I do, we're going to go on our little honeymoon together...to get my hands on the Treasure of the Ancient Trolls," Avarice said, laughing maniacally before he just disappeared before their eyes."You think this imp could be looking for Flowerbell, Smurfette?" Hefty asked after the imp disappeared."I don't know, but it just makes me want to protect her from him regardless of what he wants," Smurfette answered.

Tapper and Duncan showed up where Empath and Polaris were standing together in the village. "Something in my spirit told me that we have a visitor in our village who's smurfing for asylum here for unknown reasons, my good Empath," Tapper said."You are correct in that statement, Tapper," Polaris said."Her name is Flowerbell, and Polaris was sensing from her that somebody was after her for some malicious intent," Empath explained."Michty me, who could be smurfing after the lavender lassie?" Duncan asked."That's what Flowerbell wanted to talk to Papa Smurf alone about, Duncan," Empath answered. "If this woodnymph is in danger from someone, we must protect her from whoever is pursuing her.""I will do everything I can to smurf our visitor an environment where she could feel safe from this predator, Empath," Tapper said."Aye, and if he smurfs any harm to her, he's going to wish that he's never smurfed with a true Smurfsman, laddie," Duncan seconded."Now if we can only find out who this mysterious pursuer is, we would be able to offer better protection for our guest," Polaris said."Good luck doing that, you pale-faced fool," another voice broke in. Suddenly Avarice appeared before the four of them, briefly startling them."Oh great, it's that troll again!" Duncan said in disgust."That's imp, not troll, and the name is Avarice," the imp said, sounding offended. "I couldn't help but hear that you have a certain woodnymph in your village. I believe you know the name Flowerbell, is it not?""Flowerbell? What is it to you if we knew who she was?" Empath asked."I'm afraid that I haven't seen the woodnymph enter into the village, my friend," Tapper said."Neither have I, but you're still not going to smurf your hands on her," Duncan said."And how is it that you're going to stop me?" Avarice asked, sounding like he was being challenged. "I can appear anywhere in the village and just take her without you even knowing it, but I'd rather that she just give herself over to me. That would make things rather painless for you.""And if she refuses to give herself over to you, you would just take her?" Polaris asked."Of course I can, but unfortunately I don't have the magic to take her to wherever it is I desire to go, which is to the cave where I have discovered the Treasure of the Ancient Trolls," Avarice answered. "And besides, she has to willingly give herself to me, for that's what the Spirit of the Ancient Trolls wants. I can't make her do what she doesn't want to do, nor will the spirit accept that when I offer her to it.""Well, that's not going to smurf you much good, if the lassie isn't going to give yourself to you so you can smurf what you want with that treasure," Duncan said."You might as well forget it, Avarice, because if Flowerbell doesn't like you, there's no way you're going to get what you want even if we let you," Empath said."She'll realize that I'm the best thing she's ever had, trust me," Avarice said proudly. "I'll just hang around here for a while until she does give herself over to me, and then you'll never see my face again, much less even hers." With that, he suddenly disappeared again."I have a feeling that this Avarice isn't going to give up easily on Flowerbell, and is just going to remain here until she relents, my friends," Tapper said with some foreboding."We're not going to let Avarice have his way with Flowerbell, Tapper," Empath said. "One way or another, he's going to leave the village empty-handed."

Papa Smurf and Flowerbell both walked out of the Imaginarium together talking with each other. "So how's the lucky couple of Woody and Laconia doing since the day they were married?" she asked."I haven't smurfed any complaints from them so far, so they must be happy with each other," Papa Smurf answered."It's so nice that two people can settle down and have a happy life together instead of having to always find love in the wrong places," Flowerbell said with a deep sigh."You don't seem happy with the freedom that you now have away from being a captive of Lord Balthazar," Papa Smurf noted."Believe me, I am happier now than I was when I was his prisoner, Pops," Flowerbell said. "But every day that I'm on my own, I just wish there was someone in my life that I can share my freedom with.""The forest is a real big place for a woodnymph like you, Flowerbell," Papa Smurf said. "There has to be someone besides this imp who's bothering you that will care for you just as much as I do.""That's nice to say, but somehow I just don't feel complete without you in my life," Flowerbell said sincerely."Well, hello there, sweet stuff," a familiar voice broke in. They both watched as Avarice appeared suddenly before them, with the imp's arms stretched open wide and his face with an expression of unbridled joy."Avarice, what are you doing here?" Flowerbell asked, already sounding annoyed at his presence."Why, I've come to take you back home, my little pudding pie," Avarice answered. "I don't know why you've decided to just run off without me, but now I've come for you and we're going to be happy together.""We were happy together once, Avarice," Flowerbell said. "But I know where your heart truly lies...it's that Treasure of the Ancient Trolls you want the most.""Well, once we're married, my dear, that treasure will also belong to you," Avarice said. "Don't you want to be known as the wealthiest woodnymph that's ever lived in this forest?""Not if that means I have to live with you for the rest of my life," Flowerbell answered, repulsed at the thought."So it's you who's after Flowerbell," Papa Smurf said as he addressed Avarice. "I should have known from our last encounter together that you wouldn't give up smurfing after the Treasure of the Ancient Trolls. Why are you after her and not Smurfette this time?""Oh, Papa Smurf, can't you see what this precious jewel has done for me? She has shown me true love by coming to my rescue after you had me dancing around for years wearing those magical dancing shoes," Avarice answered."If I knew what you were really after, I would have left you dancing in those shoes until your feet got sore, Avarice," Flowerbell said."So you're telling me that you're in love with Flowerbell, all because she smurfed you out of the spell that I cast on you?" Papa Smurf said, sounding incredulous. "And I'm supposed to believe that you're truly a changed person because of that?""Believe what you want, but my little honeysuckle has been a godsend, and I would give everything I have just to have her as my one true love, Papa Smurf," Avarice said. "And I'm not going to leave here until she admits that I'm the one that she truly loves with all her heart and soul, and when she does, you Smurfs are going to marry us.""Admit that I truly love you? Fat chance, Avarice," Flowerbell snapped. "I wouldn't be surprised if Papa Smurf cast those magic dancing shoes back on your feet just to get you away from me forever.""But he can't, now that I have a protective spell on me that prevents him from doing just that, my little cutie," Avarice said. "You Smurfs are going to be seeing lots of me around the village, annoying the heck out of you, until you give me just what I want: my own darling Flowerbell as my wife." And with that, Avarice disappeared again.Hefty, Smurfette, Empath, and Polaris approached Papa Smurf and Flowerbell just after Avarice disappeared. "Papa Smurf, you wouldn't believe who we smurfed into in the forest when we were smurfing in the berries we collected," Hefty said."It's that horrible creep Avarice, Papa Smurf," Smurfette said. "And I think he's after Flowerbell.""I know, my little Smurfs, I know," Papa Smurf said. "We were just smurfed a visit by him to let us know that he's going to be harrassing us until we give him Flowerbell to be his wife.""Surely you're not going to give in to this Avarice's demands and let Flowerbell be married to him, Papa Smurf?" Polaris asked."No, I won't, Polaris," Papa Smurf said. "But right now I'm not sure what else I can do. It's either we marry Flowerbell to him or else he'll just keep hassling us until we smurf in.""There's got to be some other way that the two of you can keep Avarice from having his way with Flowerbell, Papa Smurf," Empath said. "But this smurf isn't sure if the two of you would be comfortable with that other way that you both may be thinking of right now.""Of marrying each other?" Papa Smurf said, realizing that for himself. "Empath, I want only what's best for Flowerbell, but the idea of marrying her just to smurf her away from Avarice wanting to marry her is...well, it just feels so unsmurfy.""Then I guess you don't really love me, Pops," Flowerbell said with a heavy sigh. "I thought that you would be the one who would come to my rescue, but I guess that I was wrong about you."Papa Smurf saw her slowly walk away, as if her heart had been broken. "Flowerbell, that's not how I feel for you at all," Papa Smurf tried to say."Poor Flowerbell," Smurfette sighed, feeling her heart going out to her at that moment. "I just wish I was the one married to that imp instead of her.""You really want to take Flowerbell's place as the one married to Avarice if that means all you get is being chained to someone whose heart is not fully set on you, Smurfette?" Empath asked."What would you want me to smurf, Empath...just let that imp continue to bother everyone else until he smurfs what he wants?" Smurfette replied, sounding a bit angry. "Flowerbell doesn't deserve what's being smurfed on her.""Neither do we deserve that imp harrassing us if we don't turn Flowerbell over to him, Smurfette," Hefty said."Papa Smurf, we have to find some peaceable solution to resolve this situation if we're going to have any peace among ourselves," Polaris said.Papa Smurf sighed heavily. "I'm going to smurf some time alone to think about this, my little Smurfs. Empath, you're in charge of the village for now until I smurf to a decision.""This smurf understands and acknowledges, Papa Smurf," Empath said, nodding with agreement.

Smurfette walked with Empath and Polaris after Hefty and Papa Smurf departed. "This one is curious to know more about this Avarice whom we have encountered just recently, Smurfette," Polaris requested."Some of what I know is from what Narrator had smurfed me, but anyway, Avarice was this imp who was searching for the lost Treasure of the Ancient Trolls, which he found smurfed somewhere in this forest," Smurfette explained. "The Spirit of the Ancient Trolls wouldn't let him smurf the treasure, however, until he fulfilled either of the two tasks presented to him: he was to either smurf three valuable items from Dreadful Hollow -- a feather from the giant vulture, fire from the volcano, and the fabled blue diamond from its cave -- or he was to smurf out a fair maiden with a pure heart who's willing to marry him.""And this was around the time of Papa Smurf's birthday, which this smurf had heard," Empath said. "So how did the Smurfs get involved in this situation?""Well, I wanted to smurf on a dancing performance for Papa Smurf on his birthday, but the problem is is that I thought that I was a natural at dancing -- which smurfed out to be wrong, Empath," Smurfette continued. "So while I was out in the forest pouting about what the other Smurfs thought of my dancing, this imp, whom I didn't know his name at first, presented me with these magical golden dancing shoes which would make me the star. I smurfed them onto my feet, and soon I felt like I have been dancing for ages.""But this gift the imp gave you at the time didn't come without a price, and that price was that you were to marry him," Polaris surmised."Sadly, yes, Polaris," Smurfette replied. "When Avarice smurfed up inside my house to get what he was after, I tried to run away and get protection from my fellow Smurfs, but none of them could stop that imp from making me dance my way toward him before we disappeared and ended up in his castle together. Papa Smurf and the others showed up sometime later as the imp's captives, and he smurfed them the challenge to collect the three items of Dreadful Hollow before sunrise if they wanted to smurf me from marrying him.""But the Smurfs did meet that challenge, and even after all that, Avarice still wouldn't let you go, Smurfette," Empath guessed. "So how did you finally escape?""Papa Smurf used Avarice's magic book to remove the magic dancing shoes from my feet and then smurfed a spell to cast them onto Avarice's feet and those of his guardian gargoyles," Smurfette answered. "Needless to say, he didn't smurf the treasure he was after, for he also lost the three items from Dreadful Hollow to a moat creature.""It is a fortunate thing that you ended up not being married to this greedy imp, Smurfette," Polaris said. "However, we're now faced with the problem of having to give in to his demands regarding his pursuit of Flowerbell.""Not to mention what Papa Smurf's going to do about her as well, Polaris," Empath added. "This smurf doesn't want to force these two to marry each other if they don't truly feel the same about each other, but that seems to be the only option that's going to truly work."

True to his word, Avarice popped up here and there to harrass the Smurfs wherever they happened to be in the village. He showed up in Handy's workshop when he was busy banging nails into one of his inventions and he ended up banging his hand with the hammer by the distraction. He showed up in Greedy's kitchen when he was busy preparing the next meal of the day and he ended up tossing the salad right onto his own head. He showed up in Jokey's house when he was busy preparing one of his surprises and he ended up causing the surprise he was working on to explode. He showed up when Archer was busy practicing with his bow and arrow outside his house and he ended up shooting an arrow into a Smurf's hat. He showed up when Tuffy was busy carrying a heavy load of wood to Carpenter's house and caused him to not look where he was going, tripping over a rock and dropping his load right onto another Smurf.The Smurfs were not happy as they showed up together at Papa Smurf's laboratory to complain about Avarice's appearances. "Look at what he smurfed to my hand," Handy cried out."Look at what he smurfed to my salad," Greedy said."Look at what he smurfed to one of my surprises," Jokey said."Look at what he made Archer smurf to my hat," the Smurf with the arrow shot into it said.And there were many more complaints raised before Papa Smurf silenced them. "I'm sorry, my little Smurfs, that we're all having this problem with Avarice smurfing up here and there to cause problems," Papa Smurf said."Yeah, but what are you going to smurf about it, Papa Smurf?" Vanity asked."That imp is just one real pain in the smurf," Tuffy said."Nobody can even smurf a good rest as long as he's around," Lazy said with a yawn."I hate Avarice smurfing around like this," Grouchy said."We all hate Avarice smurfing around!" the Smurfs shouted together."I understand, my little Smurfs, believe me, I understand," Papa Smurf said, trying to bring some peace into the situation. "I am currently working on a solution that will help us get rid of him.""You'd better smurf on that solution fast, Papa Smurf," Handy said."Oui, before all my masteurpiesas become disasterpiesas, Grand Schtroumpf," Painter said."I hate your disasterpiesas," Grouchy said.

Papa Smurf paced around the laboratory, trying to think of how to resolve the situation, while Empath and Polaris looked on, the both of them not sure of what to say about the situation.There was a knock on the door, and Empath opened it to allow Tapper to come in, carrying a cup of fresh hot smurfberry tea. "I figured the village leader would need something a bit relaxing to help him think, my fellows," Tapper said as he placed the cup on the table."We're at a loss for what to do, Tapper," Empath said. "Either we must marry Flowerbell to that odious Avarice, or we must marry her to Papa Smurf. Flowerbell doesn't want to marry Avarice, and Papa Smurf isn't sure that he wants to marry Flowerbell.""I feel sorry that we're smurfed in such a bind between two possible outcomes that none of us want, my fellow Empath," Tapper said. "Even my patience is being tested by Avarice's random appearances to smurf havoc all over the village just to get what he wants.""This one only wonders what's the worse thing that can come out of Papa Smurf marrying Flowerbell if that's the only option that will work," Polaris said. "She will be forever protected from Avarice's further advances toward her, which is a significant advantage.""But Papa Smurf still doesn't know if he loves her enough to give her that as an escape option, Polaris," Empath said."Love isn't always about feelings, you know...it's about caring enough to smurf what is right and proper and just because that's what you want for the other person," Tapper said. "It's about smurfing past the shortcomings of the other person and giving ourselves without resmurfation for the sake of the other because their lives matter more to us than our own.""So you want Papa Smurf to consider making a sacrifice for the sake of Flowerbell," Empath surmised. "He's already made a big sacrifice having to become the father and village leader of nearly a hundred Smurfs. I'm not sure if he's ready to make another sacrifice just yet.""Whatever Papa Smurf chooses as his solution, even if it is something that we may not like in the long run, we will stand by it and honor it, Empath," Polaris said.Then Papa Smurf stopped pacing around, seeming to come to a solution in his mind. "No matter what I may say or think, I can't deny that deep down in my heart, I do truly love Flowerbell," he finally said."I know that you do, Papa Smurf, but if you do truly love her, you will smurf what is right for her, not because it's the easiest thing to smurf, but because it is the right thing to smurf," Tapper said."But if we're going to beat Avarice at his game, we're going to need to do this thing fast," Empath said."A single day is not going to be enough time to get all the Smurfs prepared for a wedding day if we're going to have a wedding for Flowerbell," Polaris said."We don't need to smurf a big fancy wedding if we're going to marry Flowerbell to either groom, Polaris," Tapper said. "As long as there is love between the groom and bride, that will be enough for a wedding.""My thoughts exactly, Tapper," Papa Smurf said in agreement. "And I know now just what I'm going to smurf."

Smurfette and Sassette saw Flowerbell sitting outside Smurfette's house on her doorstep, looking really sad. "Weeping willows, that poor woodnymph looks like she could use some cheering up, Smurfette," Sassette said."I know, Sassette," Smurfette said. "I'm going to need some time alone so that I can smurf to her and see what's wrong.""Okay, Smurfette," Sassette said, nodding with acceptance before she ran off.Smurfette sat next to Flowerbell at the doorstep and put her arm around her friend's shoulder. "What seems to be the problem, Flowerbell?" she asked gently."Pops just doesn't seem to love me, Smurfette," Flowerbell answered. "I thought that coming to him to get out of marrying Avarice was going to be so easy because he once cared about me.""But Papa Smurf does still care about you," Smurfette said. "He doesn't smurf about it much to anyone, but deep down in his heart I know that he still thinks of you and the joy you smurfed into his life.""But is that just enough for him, Smurfette?" Flowerbell asked. "Am I only good for making Papa Smurf feel young and desirable for someone his age?""Papa Smurf hasn't smurfed anybody in his life since his wife died years ago," Smurfette explained. "I never knew her personally, but from what I know of her, she was the best thing Papa Smurf ever smurfed in his life until his son was born, and that only made things better for a while for the two of them. But even when Papa Smurf broke his wife's heart by smurfing their son away to Psychelia and made her believe that their son died, he never stopped caring for her after they had separated.""So I'm competing with a ghost from his past, and I don't measure up to the one that his heart truly loves, is that it?" Flowerbell asked."You'll always be special to Papa Smurf in your own way, Flowerbell," Smurfette said. "He loved you enough that he let you come smurf us at the wedding of Woody and Laconia a few years ago. I'm sure you're worth just as much to him as the wife he loved before you.""And you want me to trust in him and know what he's doing, even if it's for my own good," Flowerbell said. "What if he wants to send me away like he did when I betrayed him that time when I lured him into marrying me?""Papa Smurf would never smurf that if he cares about you," Smurfette said. "He doesn't like Avarice anymore than you like him now. Papa Smurf would be a much better husband for you, even if all he has to smurf you is his love."Flowerbell laughed a little. "I guess there really isn't a better choice for me. It's either Avarice or Papa Smurf. And I sure don't want it to be Avarice.""Things will be better for you, Flowerbell, I promise," Smurfette said, looking directly at Flowerbell's face for assurance as the two of them smiled.

Late that night, the Smurfs have all gathered together in the Imaginarium forest setting, as Empath thought it was the best place they could gather together and have a discussion without Avarice possibly overhearing it."This smurf apologizes for having pulled you out of bed, but Papa Smurf has decided that we're going to go ahead with a wedding for Flowerbell," Empath told the group."A wedding for Flowerbell?" Brainy asked, sounding incredulous."Boy, smurf about your quick wedding proposals," Vanity said."But who is it that Flowerbell is going to marry?" Snappy asked."We're going to keep that part a surprise until Avarice shows up again," Empath answered. "This smurf wants to see the look on his face when he finds out who it will be.""Oooh, a surprise," Jokey said with a snicker."But we don't have much time to set up a wedding for Flowerbell," Party said."We're not going to make this a big fancy wedding, Party, we're just going to gather together for a wedding," Empath said."Whatever you want from us, laddie, we're going to smurf it," Duncan said."I hate surprise weddings," Grouchy said.

The following day, Avarice appeared again in the village, carrying a large bouquet of flowers in his hand, when he saw that the Smurfs have prepared a wedding ceremony near the outskirts in the open field, with all the Smurfs in attendance, the male Smurfs all wearing ties, Tapper and Duncan wearing kilts, and Smurfette and Sassette dressed in their best clothes. Empath was standing at the altar they erected, wearing a priestly robe and sash, prepared to marry Flowerbell to her prospective groom."Well, you Smurfs sure know how to put together a wedding on such short notice," Avarice said, sounding impressed. "I didn't know that you have done it all for me and my sweetheart." And then he noticed that Flowerbell was already standing at the altar with Smurfette and Sassette beside her."Come to see me upon my wedding day, Avarice?" Flowerbell greeted with a smile."Honey, I'm so glad that you have come to your senses and decided that I'm going to be the one that you're going to marry," Avarice said with a smug grin as he tried to take his place beside Flowerbell at the altar."I'm afraid that you're only the guest here at this wedding, because I'm already planning on marrying someone else," Flowerbell said."And just who is that lucky groom that you're going to be marrying?" Avarice asked, already sounding suspicious."Just wait, and you'll see," Flowerbell replied, still smiling.Then the Smurf orchestra started playing the wedding music, and as Avarice, Flowerbell, and all the Smurfs watched, Papa Smurf proceeded down the aisle with Hefty, Handy, and Grouchy following right behind him. Papa Smurf was dressed in a tuxedo jacket and tie with a cummerbund around his waist, smiling as if this was going to be the best day in the world for the rest of his life."Well, this is certainly different, Handy," Hefty commented, speaking low. "I didn't expect to be smurfing with the groom down the aisle to smurf with his bride.""Me neither, but if this will help smurf rid of Avarice, why should we complain about it?" Handy responded, also speaking low."I hate smurfing down the aisle with the groom," Grouchy said."Excuse me, Avarice, but you're smurfing in the spot that the groom is supposed to smurf in, so you need to smurf over here," Brainy said as he escorted Avarice to an unoccupied seat while Papa Smurf and his groomsmen joined Flowerbell, Smurfette, and Sassette at the altar.As soon as the wedding music ended, Empath began. "My fellow Smurfs, as the guardian of the Smurf Village, it gives me great pleasure to have the privilege of joining this Smurf and this woodnymph together in the bonds of smurfy matrimony. As it was said in the beginning, so shall it be said by the decree of nature, that male and female shall be united together as one so that they may be fruitful with the blessings of love and family. I know that the two of them must be eager in wanting to share eternity with each other. However, if there is any Smurf or being who feels that these two should not be united together in marriage, please speak now or forever hold your peace!"Avarice tried to speak, but the instant he opened his mouth, a sour horn sound came out of his mouth. Everybody but Avarice knew that it came from Harmony's horn on purpose, but they said nothing about it."Excuse this smurf, Avarice, but are you trying to say something?" Empath asked.Avarice tried to speak again, but this time words in his own voice came out before his lips even moved. "Yes, I would like to say that I wish Papa Smurf and Flowerbell the best of fortunes for their marriage together."Avarice looked around with a mean look on his face to see who among the Smurfs was trying to play a trick on him, but all of them just looked innocent, including Jokey, who was using ventriloquism and an excellent imitation of Avarice's voice to make him say something else other than an objection."Thank you for your sincere thoughts, Avarice," Empath said. "Now if there aren't any more objections, then let us proceed. Papa Smurf, do you take Flowerbell to be your smurfully-wedded wife, to cherish, honor, and obey, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, for better and for worse, to love her as long as you both shall live?""I do, Empath," Papa Smurf said."And Flowerbell, do you take Papa Smurf to be your smurfully-wedded husband, to cherish, honor, and obey, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, for better and for worse, to love him as long as you both shall live?""I do, Empath," Flowerbell said."Normally in this type of wedding, this smurf would be calling for the ringbearer to bring forth the rings that will symbolize that these two will be bound together for all time as soul mates," Empath continued. "Instead, this smurf will let these two make their sacred vows together as they drink together from the same cup."Papa Smurf was the first to take the cup. "Flowerbell, from the first day that I smurfed you, you made me feel like a young Smurf again, and you made me know that I am still worthy of being loved by somebody at my age. With this cup, I vow that, from the smurfs of my own soul, to be the kind of Smurf that you want me to be, to smurf you everything that your heart desires no matter the cost, to make you the one and only woodnymph that I will always love above all others." With that, he took a sip and passed it to Flowerbell."Papa Smurf, you have given up a lot for me, and you have shown me what true love is, even if I haven't shown that same love back to you. With this cup, I vow that, from everything that I have within me, I will be the woodnymph that you want me to be, that will give you a home and a family that will always love you, and to have you as the one and only Smurf that I will always love above all others." With that, she also took a sip."Then, by the powers vested in me by Mother Nature and Father Time, who stand before us as witnesses, and by all the Smurfs who have smurfed throughout the ages, I shall pronounce that Papa Smurf and Flowerbell are now husband and wife," Empath said. "May this bond between them stand for all time!"Every Smurf in the audience cheered wildly at the pronouncement, while Tapper and Duncan McSmurf thrust their fists in the air to show their approval."And now you may kiss the bride," Empath said to Papa Smurf.Again the audience cheered and clapped their hands as they saw Papa Smurf kiss Flowerbell with a very passionate kiss."This is just so beautiful, I can't stop crying," Weepy said."I hate crying at weddings," Grouchy said."NO! NO! NO! THIS CAN'T BE! THIS ISN'T HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!" Avarice cried out. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO MARRY ME, NOT PAPA SMURF!""Sorry, Avarice, but it looks like you're going to have to find someone else to marry in order to get your treasure," Flowerbell said."Too bad the good one just smurfed away from you, laddie," Duncan said. "Better luck next time.""Oooooh...you've made me so mad, you miserable Smurfs," Avarice growled in fury. "One of these days, you're going to regret crossing my path, and then I will finally have my way. I'll get my hands on that treasure just yet...you wait and see!" With that, he just disappeared from the village."Oh dear, smurf about an upset loser in love," Vanity said."I hate being a loser in love," Grouchy said."Well, at least we're finally rid of that imp," Hefty said."That wedding is making me feel so hungry, I wish that I could have smurfed up a big cake for everybody," Greedy said."Yeah, but there wouldn't be any cake left for anybody once I'm through with it," Nabby said, licking his lips at the thought of cake."Now that you're finally a married Smurf, Papa Smurf, we're going to need to start smurfing arrangements for the two of you as far as where you're going to be smurfing together," Brainy said. "After all, your laboratory is only big enough for...""I'm afraid that we won't be staying together, Brainy," Flowerbell confessed. "Papa Smurf and I agreed only to be married so we can be rid of that greedy imp. But now that he's gone from my life, I need to have my own life again.""Flowerbell is right, my little Smurfs," Papa Smurf said. "This marriage is only to free her from being married to Avarice, so that he doesn't smurf after her anymore.""You won't be smurfing together?" Duncan said, sounding surprised. "Michty me, I think you're smurfing a big mistake there, Papa.""I'm not sure I like how this marriage is being used myself, but I wouldn't want Flowerbell be smurfed in an unhappy union with that imp," Tapper said."Please, Flowerbell, reconsider what you're smurfing here," Smurfette said passionately. "Who are you going to love out there in the forest who isn't going to hurt you?""I'll be fine on my own, darling, believe me," Flowerbell said. "Besides, I don't want Papa Smurf to feel like he's only being used by my love to save me yet again.""Then please stay with us, Flowerbell," Sassette pleaded.Flowerbell smiled. "Go watch after your big sister now, ginger," she said while playfully mussing up Sassette's hair.Papa Smurf escorted Flowerbell to the edge of the forest while the rest of the Smurfs watched. "We will always welcome you back to the village if you need a place to smurf, Flowerbell," Papa Smurf said while looking into her eyes."The Smurfs need you more than I do now, Pops," Flowerbell said. "I'm just going to be in the way of what you already have here with your family. I'm not cut out to be a Mama Smurf in anybody's life."Papa Smurf and Flowerbell shared one last kiss before she flew away. "Goodbye, Flowerbell," he said as he watched her fly off.

As the Smurfs cleaned up from the wedding ceremony, Empath and Polaris joined Papa Smurf as he walked off on his own to meditate on the events of the morning."It's such a shame that Flowerbell couldn't stay with us in the village, Papa Smurf," Empath said. "We would have accepted her as one of our own, seeing you with her as a married couple day by day.""I know, Empath, but if you truly love someone, you've got to smurf them free," Papa Smurf said. "She'll never replace the feelings that I have for my wife now that she's gone to the smurfy hereafter.""But perhaps in time Flowerbell could have given you better memories than those you had of being married with your first wife, Papa Smurf," Polaris said."Who really knows, Polaris?" Papa Smurf said. "Anyway, I already have enough smurfing on in the village that I need to focus on.""But there's only one life that you can live, Papa Smurf, so you might as well enjoy the happiness that you can get while you're still living," Empath said.Papa Smurf smiled at that thought. "Anyway, I'm going to smurf myself a break for the rest of the day, Empath. You're in charge of the village until further notice.""This smurf understands and acknowledges, Papa Smurf," Empath said as he and Polaris watched Papa Smurf walk off toward the Imaginarium.Just then, Smurfette appeared as she came toward Empath and Polaris. "Are you two thinking of who you're going to love when I'm smurfed away from this earth?" she asked."That thought has not entered into this one's mind to meditate upon, Smurfette," Polaris answered."Great Ancestors, Smurfette, why would I think about that now?" Empath asked. "You and this smurf haven't even gotten married yet."Smurfette snorted. "I guess I won't know what pretty female's going to smurf your heart when I'm gone from this world, Empath, especially someone as handsome to smurf at every day as you are.""This smurf is more worried about who's going to steal your heart away, Smurfette, since there's more of us than there are of you," Empath said."I can't help it if I'm the most popular Smurfette in this village, even if I am the only adult Smurfette in the village," Smurfette said."But would you still love this smurf when I get to be the same age as Papa Smurf?" Empath asked.Smurfette kissed Empath on the mouth. "Ask me that question again tomorrow and I will tell you.""But why tomorrow, Smurfette?" Empath asked."Just ask me then," Smurfette said with a giggle."Oh, please, Smurfette, you've got to let this smurf know the answer," Empath said as he walked after her."You can wait for tomorrow," Smurfette said.Polaris watched as Empath and Smurfette walked off together before he was joined by Tapper and Duncan. "How are you feeling after the wedding, my friend?" Tapper asked."This one understands the reason for Papa Smurf's wedding to Flowerbell, though this one is still trying to process in this one's mind why the resulting marital relationship wasn't meant to last," Polaris answered."You're not the only one, laddie," Duncan said. "I guess that was one relationship that was too good to even last.""I'm afraid that's the sad part of what weddings have become in this world, my fellow Polaris, a matter of convenience instead of a committed loving relationship between two people," Tapper said. "We may never know how the marriage between those two would smurf out if they chose to remain with each other after Avarice has smurfed his exit.""But that leaves the two individuals in that marriage alone again," Polaris said."Aye, that's very much the truth of it," Tapper said. "Only the Almighty can fully satisfy their hearts and smurf them the peace and comfort that they sorely desire in a world of people seeking it in everything else but in the One who created them.""At the very least, we've still got each other as family," Duncan said. "And as long as we still have that, we'll never be alone in this world.""Come, my friends, let's smurf a toast in my tavern for the continued happiness of our beloved leader and his esmurfed wife, even if they won't smurf their happiness together," Tapper said."This one will have to settle for seltzer in the 'toast', since this one is still unable to drink fermented beverages," Polaris requested."Whatever your pleasure, laddie, I'll smurf the toast with you," Duncan said as the three of them walked off together.

posted 02-14-201703:33 PM
Because I couldn't go back to re-edit the first chapter because of the time expiration, here it is again with some modifications.-----Part 1

It was morning in the Smurf Village. Papa Smurf was in his bedroom still asleep when there was a knocking on his door. "Papa Smurf?" a familiar voice called from outside.Papa Smurf slowly lifted his eyes open when he heard the voice. "Who is it?" he asked."It's Empath," the voice answered. "This smurf needs you to answer the door for something important."Papa Smurf stretched and yawned as he got himself out of bed. He climbed down the stairs into his laboratory and opened the door to see that Empath was waiting there, wearing jogging clothes. "Empath, what's the meaning of this?" he asked."Don't you know, Papa Smurf?" Empath said. "This is the day you're going to get yourself into shape.""Smurf myself into shape?" Papa Smurf said, not believing what he was hearing. "I surely don't remember smurfing anything about needing a day to...""Dabbler Smurf begs to differ," Empath said, interrupting Papa Smurf. "He says that you need to get yourself in shape because you've been putting on some weight since the last time you had a checkup with him.""Empath, I'm a busy Smurf," Papa Smurf said. "Can't we find some other time that we can smurf this?""This smurf already had a discussion with this smurf's fellow Smurfs, and they agreed to take care of important village tasks while you take the day off for your exercise regimen, Papa Smurf," Empath said. "Brainy can do some cleaning up of your laboratory, and Hefty can oversee important village tasks, and Tapper can take care of whatever Smurfs need a bit of counseling. Everyone else in the village will be fine without you for a day."Papa Smurf sighed, realizing that he had no choice. "All right, Empath. Smurf me some time to prepare myself."Empath handed Papa Smurf some jogging clothes. "This will be waiting right here until you're ready."As Papa Smurf headed back inside his bedroom to change into the jogging clothes, Smurfette came walking by. "Hello there, Empath," she greeted. "Getting Papa Smurf ready for his day of workouts?""Papa Smurf senses a bit of reluctancy on his part, Smurfette, but this smurf is certain that he is willing to get through this day without a single problem," Empath responded."Well, I'm going to miss you at breakfast this morning, so don't oversmurf Papa Smurf with your workout routine," Smurfette said as she slipped him a kiss. "I'll see you later, Empath."Shortly after Smurfette left, Papa Smurf emerged from his house wearing the jogging clothes. "So now what do we smurf with this morning, Empath?" he asked."We're going to start with a jog around the outer perimeter of the village, Papa Smurf," Empath answered. "This smurf will start off slow so you can build yourself up to a pace that you are comfortable with.""Well, lead the way, Empath," Papa Smurf said as he closed the door to his house.Empath started to jog, and Papa Smurf followed right behind him, trying to keep up with his son even though he was jogging at a slow pace so that Papa Smurf would not lag behind."Gosh, look, Dimmy, it's Empath and Papa Smurf," Clumsy said to his brother Dimwitty as they both saw the two of them jogging."I didn't know Papa Smurf had smurfed up jogging as of lately, Clumsy," Dimwitty commented."Uh, me neither," Clumsy said as the two of them looked on in wonder at Empath and Papa Smurf passing by them.Empath saw Hefty, Tuffy, and Duncan McSmurf as they were doing their own jogging circuit around the village. "Salutations, my fellow Smurfs," Empath greeted as he came into range of the three other joggers."Greetings, laddie," Duncan said back to Empath. "Taking Papa out for a jog around the village, I see.""How's he doing so far, Empath?" Hefty asked."He should be catching up with us right about now, Hefty," Empath answered. And surely as he said that, Papa Smurf was doing his best trying to keep up, though he seemed to be breathing hard as he was running."Not quite as fast as he used to be when we had Gargamel smurfing after us all around the forest now, is he?" Tuffy commented."You really want that evil wizard smurfing around here again, Tuffy?" Duncan asked."We could all use a bit more exercise to smurf ourselves out of any danger, you know," Hefty said. "It's not like we can always rely on old star-face to protect us from every sort of danger.""Just the really big ones that even we as a group of Smurfs can't handle, Hefty," Tuffy said.Empath and Papa Smurf were now passing by Handy, Miner, and Farmer as they were heading out to Farmer's fields to work on the irrigation system. "Smurf and begorrah, there goes Empath with Papa Smurf on a morning jog," Miner said as the three of them watched the two joggers pass by."Is it me, or is Papa Smurf do be smurfing shorter of breath in his old age?" Farmer asked."What do you expect with a Smurf who's only 549 years old, Farmer?" Handy replied. "I just hope I'm not in the same shape as him when I get to be that age."Tapper was near the outskirts of the village doing his daily morning prayer when Empath and Papa Smurf passed by him. "O Lord God, the Heavenly Father, I pray for the sake of Papa Smurf, our beloved leader, that you would smurf his heart from all temptations of evil and that you would smurf him wisdom to guide us in our everyday living as You are the Good Shepherd that smurfs over your flock at all times. I ask You this in the name of Your only begotten Son. Amen.""Empath...could you please slow down?" Papa Smurf requested, panting heavily."We're almost finished, Papa Smurf," Empath responded.Empath and Papa Smurf continued their circuit around the village, passing by several more Smurfs that were just getting ready for their day, including Wheelie, who was busy delivering the morning newspaper while riding his unicycle around the village. Papa Smurf could feel his heart beating faster as he continued trying to keep up with his son.Then finally, Empath said, "You can relax now, Papa Smurf. Our circuit around the village is finished."Papa Smurf exhaled greatly as he and Empath slowed to a stop. "That was quite a workout there, Empath.""We're not finished with the workout, Papa Smurf," Empath said as he continued to move around. "As soon as we are cooled down from the jog, we will be going into an exercise routine for the next thirty minutes.""Another thirty minutes?" Papa Smurf said, sounding exasperated."You want to maintain good health in your later years, Papa Smurf, you should listen to what your physician is telling you," Empath said, trying not to sound like he was lecturing. "You'll get through it in fine shape, this smurf promises you."Papa Smurf slapped his forehead in frustration.

At the breakfast table, the Smurflings had a question to ask the adult Smurfs that they felt needed an answer."Smurfette, do you know how creatures like woodelves, uh...smurf intimate with each other when they're alone and married?" Sassette asked."I'm not sure if anyone but Papa Smurf knows, Sassette," Smurfette answered. "Why do you ask?""Snappy was smurfing a little crude with his descriptions of how woodelves smurf intimate with each other, and I just want to know from someone who does know," Sassette explained."They're male and female, aren't they?" Snappy said. "They should smurf together like males and females do...you know, with the things Mother Nature smurfed them so they can smurf together secretly.""But woodelves are not like other creatures in the forest, Snap, as I keep on smurfing you," Nat said. "They may be male and female, but that doesn't mean that they smurf babies into the world like other creatures do.""Then why would Mother Nature make them male and female in the first smurf?" Snappy asked."I don't know...probably so that there's a mother and father in the families they smurf together," Slouchy guessed."Unfortunately, Papa Smurf is very busy with Empath this morning and will not be available to answer any Smurf's questions," Smurfette said. "So I'm afraid you're going to have to wait until tomorrow to ask Papa Smurf that kind of question.""Perhaps this one may be of some assistance, since this one has studied on the various procreative practices of all types of creatures in this forest," Polaris Psyche offered when he overheard the conversation going on."And I thought Psyches have no interest in 'procreative activities', Polaris, unless you're trying to smurf something about yourself," Snappy jested."Seriously, Polaris, what can you tell about how male and female woodelves smurf intimate with each other?" Sassette asked, sounding curious."From what this one has learned from Papa Smurf, woodelves engage in what is called 'dream sharing', which is when two woodelves, each of opposite genders, enter the same dream together when they are asleep," Polaris answered."And that's it?" Snappy said. "There's no...physical activity smurfing on between them? That sounds boring.""That's probably how Mother Nature intended for them to be intimate with each other, Snap," Nat said. "Why would you complain about that?""Because we know how Snappy wants to be intimate, and with whom, don't we?" Slouchy said with a suggestive smirk.Smurfette giggled. "I'm afraid that I'm still too old for you Smurflings. You'll have to wait a while before you start smurfing an interest in Sassette if you're going to desire smurfing to be alone with somebody like that.""Me, alone with Sassette?" Snappy said with some disgust. "I'd rather kiss her frog than kiss her face.""What about you, Polaris?" Sassette wondered. "Do Psyches ever, uh...share dreams with each other?""That is what Psyches do, Sassette, although Psyches are only paired together as same-gender couples because the Psyche Master does not wish for Psyches to have intimate relations with each other, either for reproduction or for mere animalistic pleasure," Polaris answered."That just sounds so unnatural to be paired as same-gender couples, Polaris," Nat said with a hint of distaste in his voice."It sure doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me," Slouchy said."So you and Empath have been sharing dreams with each other in Psychelia," Snappy said, realizing what Polaris was saying. "Anything interesting smurfing on in those dreams that we should know about?""Snappy, that's a very rude question to ask of Polaris," Smurfette said, sounding displeased."What goes on between this one and Empath in our dream sharing experiences is something that neither this one nor Empath are willing to disclose to anyone else, Snappy," Polaris answered."Snap, you creep, why do you ask about what smurfs on between Empath and Polaris?" Nat asked, sounding bewildered. "Are you looking to smurf over Nosey's job as the village snoop?""I'm certainly not going to smurf in that direction, unless Tapper starts serving the hard stuff to Smurflings like us," Slouchy said with his eyes rolling."If he's serving anything like brain bleach, I'll have one too," Sassette said in agreement."I'm going to pretend like you never mentioned anything about 'dream sharing' between you and Empath if that's anything like I think they're thinking about, Polaris," Smurfette said."This one can remove that memory from your mind, if you so desire for not remember anything this one has said about the 'dream sharing', Smurfette," Polaris suggested."Uh, no thanks, Polaris," Smurfette said.

After breakfast, Polaris went on his daily routine to inspect all activities within the village to make sure everything went smoothly without any problems. Along his way, he met with Tapper and Duncan, the both of whom were carrying kegs of sarsaparilla ale from the distillery to the tavern to fill up the large keg that was hooked up outside the building."Smurf o' the morning to you, Polaris," Tapper greeted. "What smurfs to be on your mind today?""This one is concerned about Papa Smurf's state of mind, now that he's currently engaged with Empath in a day of physical regimen to maintain his fitness," Polaris said. "This one does not understand why Papa Smurf does not want to concern himself about his health issues at a time when it may be necessary for him to do so.""Papa sure is a stubborn one when it comes to his own health, laddie," Duncan said. "I guess he doesn't like the fact that he isn't the young pup that he used to be.""I would have to agree with Duncan on that, my fellow Polaris," Tapper said. "Being consmurfly reminded of one's age is not something that everybody wants to hear, but we are still mortal creatures even if we smurf the blessing of having longer lives than most, and all of us are still appointed to die and then smurf judgment for our lives at the hands of the Almighty who created us.""This one only wishes that Papa Smurf wouldn't be so sensitive in regards to knowing his own age and mortality, Tapper," Polaris said. "This one would consider it a blessing for a Psyche to even live as long as the Psyche Master, though no one among us is certain of how long he has lived for.""I can only wish to still be attractive to the young lassies as Papa Smurf was to that woodnymph who came to smurf with us several years ago when I get to be Papa Smurf's age," Duncan said."This one has heard of the female known as Flowerbell who seemed to be attracted to Papa Smurf when she came into the village during Empath's absence," Polaris said. "However, from what this one has heard about her interactions with Papa Smurf, her affections didn't seem to be as genuine as Papa Smurf thought they were.""I'm afraid they weren't, Polaris, because she was originally smurfed by Lord Balthazar to smurf the heart of the wisest Smurf of all so he could capture him and make him smurf the evil lord's will," Tapper said. "However, she did come to care enough for Papa Smurf that she would help the Smurfs rescue him from Balthazar, but sadly it broke Papa Smurf's heart to know she didn't love him as much as he thought she did.""Aye, that was a real sad moment for myself as well, because I honestly thought Flowerbell would be a keeper for Papa at his age," Duncan said."This one is at a loss to understand the attractions between people of both opposite sexes and different ages," Polaris said. "It would make more sense for those same people to be of the same age as each other in order to have attractions for each other.""I don't understand it myself, my good Polaris, but that's how love smurfs sometimes, and other times it's just plain lust at smurf," Tapper said.Just then, Empath passed by the three Smurfs, carrying Papa Smurf in his arms. "Clear the way! This smurf must get Papa Smurf to the infirmary immediately!" he cried out."Great Smurfiny Crickets, I wonder what's wrong with Papa Smurf," Tapper said."This one senses that Papa Smurf may have been overworked during his physical regimen or something worse," Polaris said. "This one will need to attend to Papa Smurf to make sure it is nothing serious.""Michty me, laddie, I certainly hope that it isn't anything serious," Duncan said with some honest feeling as he watched Polaris follow after Empath.

The village was crowded around the infirmary as Dabbler and Empath examined Papa Smurf's physical condition, stripping him of his jogging clothes and putting him in a hospital patient's gown while they made the examination. Hefty and Polaris stood outside the infirmary to make sure the other Smurfs stayed outside."I'm not smurfing a heartbeat coming from Papa Smurf," Dabbler said as he listened for one by using his stethoscope."Then it's time to give him a psionic blast to jumpstart his heart, hopefully to get it beating again," Empath said."You sure that will be safe?" Dabbler asked. "That will smurf a lot of energy out of you to do so.""We don't have time to argue about this, Dabbler," Empath said very forcefully. "Just let me smurf it!""Fine, but I'll tell Polaris to smurf the mindlink ready in case you need it," Dabbler said as he backed away from the bed and headed for the door.Empath put his hands on Papa Smurf's chest and focused all his mental energy through his hands to emit a single burst. "Clear!" Empath shouted as he emitted the burst of energy through his hands into Papa Smurf, causing his body to jolt from the burst. Empath felt weak from the burst, but he couldn't sense a single heartbeat coming from Papa Smurf. He could also sense the Smurfs outside, hoping and praying for a miracle to happen.Empath refocused all his strength to get a second burst ready to fire through his hands. "Again!" he shouted as he emitted another burst, causing Papa Smurf's body to jolt. This time, though, Empath could sense a heart beat coming from the village leader.Dabbler returned to the bed as Empath collapsed to the floor, spent from having to emit all that energy through the psionic blasts. "How is Papa Smurf doing?" Dabbler asked, afraid to know."He...will recover, Dabbler," Empath managed to say.

Tapper, Duncan, Smurfette, and the Smurflings met up with Empath as soon as he regained his strength. "How's Pappy doing right now, Empath?" Sassette asked."He's resting, Sassette," Empath replied. "He needs to have a day of rest so that he can recover and then take it easy for a few days afterward.""How did he smurf like this?" Smurfette asked. "Did you smurf him too hard during the day that he was supposed to do exercises with you?""This smurf tried not to overwork him, Smurfette," Empath answered. "It's probably because he hasn't had such a workout in his life that it just put too much of a strain on him.""You should have smurfed easy on Papa nonetheless, laddie," Duncan said. "If he wasn't used to smurfing such a workout, he could have just smurfed the bucket right there.""I'm sure that Empath smurfed the best he could to avoid that situation, my fellow Duncan," Tapper said. "The only thing we can smurf now is pray for a speedy recovery for Papa Smurf.""Poor Papa Smurf," Nat said. "I hope Mother Nature will smurf him back on his feet and soon.""Ah, don't worry so much about him, Nat," Snappy said. "He's Papa Smurf. He's tougher than he smurfs for his age.""Not tough enough to avoid almost dying on us from a workout, Snap," Slouchy said solemnly."Empath, will Pappy Smurf really die?" Sassette asked, sounding really concerned."Not if we take good care of him, Sassette," Empath said assuringly. "There's nothing for you to worry about here. All he needs is just time to rest.""But if he dies, doesn't that make you the next Papa Smurf around here?" Nat asked."Papa Smurf has appointed this smurf to be the next village leader in case he does pass away, Nat," Empath answered. "However, this smurf doubts that his death will happen anytime soon, except for the unexpected.""I think that is one thing that we should smurf in the hands of the Almighty, my fellow Smurfs," Tapper said. "For now, we will let Papa Smurf have his rest and we will pray for his recovery.""Whatever happens, Empath, I just want you to know that I'm proud for how you're handling this situation today," Smurfette said as she looked into his eyes.